NAHCON pledges support for Hajj, Umrah operators

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has assured licenced travel tour companies of its support to mitigate their challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The assurance was given Wednesday by NAHCON Chairman /Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, when the executive members of the Association of Hajj and Umrah Operators of Nigeria (AHUON), paid him a courtesy visit at Hajj House in Abuja on Wednesday.

According to Hassan, the NAHCON was not oblivious of the economic effect brought on the hospitality industry by the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world.

A statement made available to Tribune Online by Mousa Ubandawaki, Assistant Director, Information and Publication of the NAHCON, stated that the Chairman expressed his readiness to assist and support the AHUON towards reducing its losses, especially against the backdrop of the cancellation of Umrah pilgrimage by the Saudi Arabia government and the uncertainty over the 2020 Hajj.

Hassan, however, pleaded with the Association to exercise patience with the commission in fashioning out the right direction that would be just and equitable.

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He then thanked the Association for the support, trust and confidence reposed in the NAHCON, promising to look into its complaints and requests with a view to addressing them promptly.

The NAHCON boss reiterated the commission’s commitment to partnering with the AHUON to uplifting Hajj and Umrah services in Nigeria.

Speaking earlier, the acting President of AHUON, Alhaji Saliu Abdullahi Butu, said the essence of the visit was to express their support for NAHCON and to solicit assistance in the area of boosting their revenue profile in the face of COVID-19 global pandemic.

According to him, many of its members were on the verge of bankruptcy as some payments made to service providers had not been refunded.

Butu informed that only visa fee and insurance charges had been refunded by the Saudi government, while other payments like air tickets, hotel service, transportation and other handling charges were still being awaited from the service providers.

He further called on NAHCON to assist its members by releasing the ₦5million annual refundable fee paid by each company and also intervene in securing the Federal Government financial palliative for them through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as well as defer the validity of 2020 Umrah license till 2021 in order to cushion the effect of their financial situation.

Other demands made by the association included the release of list of licensed and accredited Tour companies as well as Hajj allocation respectively.